


My Teacher

by Dewdropzz



Series: In Honour of a Good Man [4]
Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-11 00:50:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4414610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dewdropzz/pseuds/Dewdropzz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'The three years I spent working as his assistant were some of the most incredible years of my life. They provided me with memories that would last a lifetime, preserved as vividly in my mind as pictures in a photo album, reflecting precious moments from the past. And no matter how much has happened since those times, I know I will always cherish those memories."</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Teacher

What can I say about Professor Hershel Layton? That he was a good man? Of course I could say that, but that could be said about a lot of people. That he was brilliant; a complete and utter genius who "left no puzzle unsolved"? Well, that could easily be said, but it's horribly impersonal. Everyone knows Professor Layton was a gentleman, and was arguably more knowledgeable than most of England put together. Everyone knows he once wore a top hat, and traveled the globe solving mysteries, doing things most people could only imagine in their wildest dreams. But how many people know Professor Layton like I once knew Professor Layton? His son, obviously, and a chosen few who had the privilege of living out the years with him. The time I spent with the professor was comparably short to some, but the three years I spent working as his assistant were some of the most incredible years of my life. They provided me with memories that would last a lifetime, preserved as vividly in my mind as pictures in a photo album, reflecting precious moments from the past. And no matter how much has happened since those times, I know I will always cherish those memories.

The first time I laid eyes on the professor with the top hat, I was only nineteen years old. I had been accused of a petty crime: stealing the wallet of a thirteen year old boy. Of course I would never have dreamed of doing such a thing, but the police officer was adamant that I had done it... The professor just happened to be walking by at the moment, and he witnessed my "confrontation" with the policeman. Seeing I was at my wit's end trying to prove to the officer that I was innocent, the professor decided to step in and lend a hand. With his immensely powerful intellect, he was able to deduce that I did not commit the crime. In reality, I had been framed by none other than the young victim himself, and was being used as a pawn in his plan to buy the fashionable new shoes he absolutely needed to gain acceptance from the other kids.

"If you spend your entire life trying to fit in with others, you'll never belong anywhere." I remember hearing the professor say as he walked the young con artist out of Scotland Yard. There was something about those words that touched me. They were so full of wisdom, yet so simple and sincere that even a child could understand them. I knew at that moment that a man who spoke such wisdom must be more than just a perfect English gentleman in a top hat. And to think he called me a lady! Me with my anything but ladylike temper! Me with my tomboyish mannerisms — The girl whose only dolly growing up was a sad looking thing she had chopped all the hair off, and lovingly referred to as "Bob". The professor came to my assistance even after he'd witnessed me screaming my head off at the Inspector, where most people would have written me off as a criminal and headed for the hills. The professor left that day without even telling me his name, but I made a promise to myself that one day I would see him again.

Seven years later my wish came true! But a lot had changed since the last time I'd seen Professor Layton. My uncle had been promoted to leader of a very important secret military organization... I had always known Uncle Leon was a member of Targent, ever since he took me in after my parents died of polio. I knew he was an archaeologist, and that his organization was dedicated to the research of the Azran, an ancient civilization with intelligence and technology far superior to that of the modern human race. As a girl, I didn't understand what their mission entailed. But as I got older, I suppose it was inevitable that I would start to work for them as well. I wasn't an archaeologist, but my investigative skills were keen, and my uncle taught me to fight, in case the need should ever arise. I became an undercover agent for Targent, acting as a sort of spy for the group, sleuthing out any information that may be of value to them. My uncle would send me on various missions, all of different degrees of pertinence and interest. Then one day, when he believed I was ready, he assigned me to what he said was the most important task I would ever take on...

He said I was to go undercover to gather information about a young archaeology professor named Hershel Layton. It seemed Professor Layton was a gifted archaeologist — A brilliant man whom, despite his short career, had landed himself in the papers several times for his extraordinary discoveries. Uncle Leon felt that, if given the chance, the professor may just stumble upon the greatest archaeological secret known to mankind: The treasure of the Azran. To prevent this from happening, he wanted me to spend time with the professor; to keep a close eye on him, find out what he knew, and if he should ever get too close to the Azran civilization, to report him to Targent so they could put an end to his interference... To do this, he said I would need to take on the highly confidential role of Professor Layton's assistant.

Of course I was happy about this. I had been dreaming for seven years about meeting up with the professor again. To get to work as his assistant was better than anything I could ever have asked for. But having to do it as a Targent agent sort of put a damper on things. As sad as it was for me to believe, I knew that if Targent was keeping tabs on the professor, it could only mean impending doom for him. My uncle and his organization were willing to stop at nothing to achieve their goal, and were prepared to use whatever force they deemed necessary to get to the Azran legacy first. They had already demonstrated that they were more than capable of silencing anyone who threatened to get in their way. Only three months ago, they had murdered the wife and nine-year-old daughter of an archaeologist who refused to work for their cause. I knew that if I were to uncover anything about the professor they considered undesirable, they would not hesitate to terminate him. But if for now it was up to me to keep Professor Layton at bay, and away from the Azran treasure, maybe I could protect him. I had made up my mind that I was going to do whatever I could to help Uncle Leon and his cause, and while I was at it, I was going to be the best assistant to the professor that I could possibly be.

The three years I spent with Professor Layton and his "apprentice" Luke, went by in a blur. The professor was all that I imagined him to be, and probably more than Uncle Leon ever expected! I thought as a university professor's assistant I would be filing paperwork, keeping track of appointments, tidying up around the office and other mundane things a university professor's assistant might be hired to do. I never would have thought that on my first day on the job I would be journeying to a picturesque town by the lake to meet a boy who foretold the end of the world, a girl who was nicknamed the calamity witch, and solve the mystery of a giant specter who terrorized the town by night, but only when the fog was thick... I was with Professor Layton when he made his first huge discovery that put him on the front page of perhaps every newspaper in the world. From then on in, I would never simply say I worked for an archaeology professor when people asked about my job! For they would never understand just how extraordinary my job was until they heard the name of my extraordinary employer.

I was with Professor Layton when he found the City of Ambrosia, and I helped him learn the truth behind Ambrosia's eternal life. The professor taught me to solve brain teasers, to the point where I thought there was no puzzle I couldn't solve. I remember I used to get so upset whenever I would get an answer wrong, but the professor would tell me I should never give into frustration, because in order to find the solution to any sort of problem, it was essential for me to keep a clear head. He insisted that one cannot think rationally unless they remain focused and calm, and he would tell me I should never feel ashamed about getting a puzzle wrong, because not only can we learn from our mistakes, but our mistakes remind us that we are not always as smart as we think we are, and that there will always be room for improvement. He told me that our failures were only improvements of character in the long run. He never knew that the reason why I would get so flustered when I couldn't solve a puzzle was him. Professor Layton taught me to think logically so I could tackle any puzzle that came my way... And when I was faced with a puzzle that was too hard for me, I felt like I was letting him down.

The professor never would have said I let him down, though. Whether I was solving puzzles, taking pictures to aid our investigations, or wrestling the thugs we seemed to encounter almost everywhere we went, the professor was always very grateful for the work I did. In those days, it didn't feel like we were at home very often at all, but when we were in London, and the professor was teaching at Gressenheller University, even what I would have viewed before as boring, mundane tasks, the professor always managed to make interesting for me. Braving his office every day was an adventure in itself! I won't refrain from telling you it was an absolute disaster in there, and it was impossible to clean, too, as it was so overflowing with historical knowledge, ancient artifacts, and things that might be ancient artifacts, there was never any room on the shelves. Luke and I used to rib him about it so badly, I can't believe he put up with us! The professor never expressed any desire to clean up his workplace, however. It was like it was a little weird quirk about his personality — A tribute to the philosophy that no human being was perfect, no matter how brilliant they were!

The professor truly was a man of the strongest moral character. In all the days I spent with him, I never once knew him to behave as anything but a gentleman. I was fortunate enough to have been there with him through some of the most important events of his life. I was there in Monte D'or when he solved the mystery of the Masked Gentleman, and I watched as he was reunited with his best friend from childhood. The most incredible journey I would embark on with Professor Layton, however, was one that would take he, Luke, and I around the entire globe. It was a dangerous expedition, and only I knew just how dangerous it was... When Professor Layton got the letter from Professor Sycamore, I knew my time as his assistant had almost come to an end. It seemed at long last the professor was going after the Azran legacy. I had done my best to steer him away from it; I had not told him anything I knew. I had done everything I could to keep Targent a secret, and buried those secrets so deep within me I had almost forgotten myself that I was one of them... I was not really Professor Layton's assistant. It was only a mission I was on, just like so many others I had completed, and I knew that when Uncle Leon caught the professor, for it was inevitable that he would catch him, I would have to retain complete loyalty to him. After all, I owed it to him. Uncle Leon was the only family I had in the world...

Fortunately for us all, that time would not come until several months into our investigation. Before I took my final bow as Professor Layton's assistant, I got to travel the world with him aboard the airship Bostonius. And during that time, I got to experience so many wonderful things I never had before. I got to play on the beach, if only for a brief time, with the professor and Luke, Professor Sycamore and Aurora. I got to watch a friendly rivalry unfold between the two professors, and I witnessed Professor Layton put his great comedic plan into action to make the chief of Phong Gi laugh. Spending the months together, sharing the sights, and smells, and sounds of so many new places, sleeping under the same airship-roof for so many nights... I got to see sides of my friends I somehow never saw before, and I truly believe we became closer during those months than we had ever been. I knew now that I was mistaken in thinking Uncle Leon was the only family I had in the world... And I was grateful for every minute of that time we had together.

When Targent finally did catch up with Professor Layton, I did my duty, just as I was always meant to do. I forced the professor to hand over the Azran key — The one that the five of us had worked so hard to create. As I held the knife to Luke's throat, and heard him beg for me to stop, as if he thought it was only a joke like the ones I used to play on him in happier times, the tears began to form in my eyes, and spill down my face. All I could do was ask myself, why did it have to end this way? Why did I have to threaten the life of a little boy, the one who I had watched grow up for the past three years? The one who had been as close as a brother to me ever since my first adventure with Professor Layton? How could things have changed so much? Or was this the real me, and all this time I had only been hiding under the facade of the woman I wished I could be...? When the pain became unbearable, I finally broke down. I screamed that everything I had done was for Uncle Leon, hoping, praying to God that they might understand... But the deed had been done. My mission was complete. I had betrayed Professor Layton, and it was too late for things to go back to the way they once were.

That would not be the last time I would see the professor and his apprentice. "For old times' sake", I wanted to finish what we had started with the Azran people. To die alongside Professor Layton and Luke was an honour I didn't deserve. And although we were revived, and made it out of the temple alive, I still feel I came as close to redeeming myself as I could... If only I could truly have made up for what I'd done.

The professor said he forgave me. He said he recognized the bond I shared with my uncle, and he understood that I had a duty to him. He said that I could stay, and continue to work as his assistant if I so desired. But the professor didn't understand I had a responsibility to him as well. He was the one who had helped me; the one who had shown me so much, and taught me so many things... He had given me someone to rely on, to trust, and I know he trusted in me... I couldn't possibly stay, and pretend like nothing at all had happened, after I had betrayed the person who had done so much for me... Professor Layton respected my decision. Before I left, I threw my arms around him. He thanked me, and I sobbed.

I have not seen Professor Layton since the day I resigned as his assistant, but I've kept up to date with all his discoveries in the London, and international newspapers. It has been a very long time since his name has graced the headlines of any paper, however. He is not the talk of London as he once was, but I heard it through the university grapevine that he has been bedridden for several weeks now. A part of me wishes I could go see him, but after so many years, he surely wouldn't recognize me, and I don't know what the surprise might do to him. Instead I suppose I'll just have to go and pay my respects when all is said and done. I won't show my face around any of his friends. They don't need to know who I am, or who I once was. And though they may all have cherished memories of that famous archaeologist, many of them have not known Professor Layton as I have known Professor Layton. I hope the professor sincerely believed that I never meant to hurt him... I suppose I will never get to tell him myself, but it was an honour and a privilege to have known such a wonderful man.


End file.
